LANSING — A 22-year-old parolee received a prison sentence of 14 to 32 years after pleading guilty in the death of a 4-year-old girl who located a loaded handgun inside a north Lansing apartment and fatally shot herself, court records show.
Details of the case and plea
Maliki Pendergrass pleaded guilty on June 11 to charges that included violating Michigan’s safe-gun storage law, illegal possession of a firearm and felony firearm possession as a third-time habitual offender, according to charging documents and statements from the Ingham County Prosecutor’s Office. The shooting occurred Jan. 21 in an apartment in the 600 block of Sadie Court.
Police allege Pendergrass left a stolen, loaded 9mm handgun pushed under a couch the night before the child found it. He had been on parole at the time. Prosecutors initially filed seven felony counts related to the girl's death; four counts were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.
Sentence breakdown
Ingham County Circuit Judge James Jamo handed down the sentence on July 29. Court records list the terms applied to the convictions:
| Charge | Sentence |
|---|---|
| Safe-storage violation causing death | 12 to 30 years |
| Felony firearm (mandatory) | 2 years |
| Total imposed | 14 to 32 years |
Because Pendergrass was serving a parole term, prosecutors said he was not eligible to receive credit for any time he had already spent in jail. State corrections records indicate he had been paroled July 29, 2025, after serving minimum sentences of five years for previous convictions of armed robbery and carrying a concealed weapon.
Legal context and safety law
Michigan law requires that weapons left unattended be kept unloaded and locked with a device or stored in a locked container if a minor is likely to be present on the premises. Prosecutors emphasized that the statutes exist to prevent children from accessing firearms and to protect the public.
"These laws exist to protect the public and to prevent children from gaining access to firearms in their homes and communities. This tragic case serves as another reminder of the consequences of unsafe firearm storage and unlawful firearm possession."
The quotation above is from Ingham County Prosecutor John Dewane, who described the girl's death as "entirely preventable."
Community consequences and unanswered questions
The sentence resolves some criminal exposure for Pendergrass but leaves broader questions for Lansing residents about firearm access, parole supervision and child safety in rental housing. Prosecutors had charged several counts, including involuntary manslaughter, but reached a plea that narrowed the convictions to safe-storage and firearm offenses.
Residents and policymakers will likely look to this case as an example of how Michigan’s safe-storage law is being applied in fatal incidents involving children. The mandatory penalties attached to felony firearm convictions remain an important tool for prosecutors; in this case, a two-year mandatory term was stacked on top of the safe-storage penalty that carries the greater portion of the sentence.
- Sentence: 14–32 years in prison for Maliki Pendergrass.
- Charges resolved by plea: safe-storage violation causing death, illegal possession, felony firearm as a third-time habitual offender.
- Incident: Jan. 21, north Lansing apartment, child found a loaded 9mm handgun hidden beneath a couch.
The fatal shooting stands as a stark reminder for Lansing families and landlords: unsafe storage of firearms can have irreversible consequences. As this sentence is carried out, it will be part of ongoing local conversations about enforcement, prevention and how communities keep children safe in homes where firearms are present.
